The Right Reverend Ross Bay
Ross was ordained and installed as Bishop of Auckland in Eastertide on 17 April 2010. In his first letter to the Diocese he quoted from St Augustine of Hippo, “I am a bishop for you and a Christian with you”. The Bishop wrote, “I will endeavour to live this out through my episcopate in this diocese. I came to faith through the ministry of one of our parishes and I have been nurtured through the ministry of many others. I have served nearly all my ordained ministry in the Diocese of Auckland. I love this diocese and care deeply about it and about its clergy and people. I am a Christian with you.”
Ross was raised in Auckland and grew up attending local schools in Papatoetoe. He worked for the Bank of New Zealand until becoming a private student at the Bible College of New Zealand in Henderson, Auckland.
The Anglican Church had been his spiritual home throughout his life, and he had found himself becoming more involved as a teenager through the local parish youth group. While at Bible College, he sensed a call to ordained ministry, entered the selection process and was accepted into the Theological College of St John the Evangelist in 1988. He was ordained Deacon in February 1989 and served as College Deacon at St Andrew's Church, Kohimarama while completing his final year at College. He was ordained to the priesthood in November of the same year and completed a Bachelor of Theology from the Australian College of Theology in 1990.
Ross remained at St Andrew's as Priest Assistant until June 1990 taking a similar position at Holy Trinity Cathedral until 1992. He spent 18 months travelling and working in Europe, serving part-time as Priest Assistant at Limpsfield, Surrey, in the Diocese of Southwark. While there, he completed a postgraduate course at London University, gaining a Diploma in Pastoral Theology in 1993.
Returning to New Zealand, Ross became Priest Assistant at St Matthew's-in-the-City in 1994 before accepting the post of Vicar of Ellerslie / Mount Wellington in the same year. He became the Vicar of St Mark's Church, Remuera, in 2001 and was appointed Archdeacon of Auckland in 2006. Ross was installed as the 8th Dean of Auckland in November 2007 and was also Vicar-General of the Diocese.
Ross married Jacquie in 1987. Jacquie is a secondary school teacher (science and biology) who holds the degree of Master of Science Education from Auckland University. She is currently Director of the Liggins Education Network for Science at The University of Auckland. Prior to that she was Head of the Science Department at Diocesan School for Girls.
For relaxation Ross plays squash and is a keen tramper. He is also a member of the Auckland Volunteer Fire Police.
For more information about him and his ministry, please select any of the pages from the menu at the left of the page.
Read: Diocese Welcomes New Bishop
View: Photos from the Installation of the Bishop of Auckland